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Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Review: STUBBORN - Jeanne Arnold

This book reminded me of a plot for a really great teen drama that the WB would run with a cast of truly beautiful people and a snappy dialogue a la Dawson’s Creek, although without the need for a pocket dictionary or thesaurus to understand the lingo. The really great thing about Stubborn was I wasn’t just enamoured with our male and female lead in the book but the various characters that make up the cast of Stubborn as well, each bringing a vital element of drama or angst to the story and often a good dose of humour. It is by no means a complex or heavy read but a perfect book for the beach. Stubborn is able to straddle the line of YA/NA appealing to both the younger reader’s and the other camp that are similar to my age- just slightly older than, er… 25. The book just reads like a really good soap opera.

Avery our leading lady is the unlucky soul who woke up one fateful morning with obscenities scrawled on her forehead by a rejected would-be boyfriend only to be shipped off by her parents to the wilds of Dakota to her former-military aunt Meggie’s home. Once there Avery becomes entangled in the lives of the Halden men, three handsome brother’s each with their own individual personalities but are weighted down by a lifetime of emotional baggage due to a devastating accident having occurred in the family relatively recently.

Stubborn mostly centres round Avery and Gabe Halden and tells their tale of growing-up, opening-up their hearts to each other, dealing with family crises and working their way to a HEA but not before a few obstacles are threw in their way- namely their own obstinate views on things and learning that not everything is so black and white (hence the books’ title) and the drama-rama that comes from a rival oil tycoon’s son and Gabe’s playboy brother Caleb. A thoroughly enjoyable and well written book, Stubborn had a healthy mix of everything drama, romance and engaging character’s that you’ll either love or love to hate. I honestly hope there is another episode in this saga- I mean book- to give Caleb and Lane their time to shine and tell their stories.

STUBBORN

With a train ticket, a bad attitude, and an unfortunate scribbling of obscenities across her forehead, seventeen-year-old Avery Ross is tossed out of the frying pan and into the fire when she’s sent from New York to the vast oil field region of North Dakota. When a green-eyed boy with a sultry Texan accent comes to her defense, Avery has no clue that his actions will lead her into a passion-charged summer, full of temptation and loss.

Defiant and relegated to work at her aunt’s boarding house, Avery discovers a connection between her aunt and the striking boy. He and his brothers are seeking revenge for the wrongful death of their sibling, and Avery becomes entangled in their battle over oil rights, loyalty, and love. Avery falls for the brooding, younger brother, Gabriel Halden, against her aunt’s forewarnings and creates more tribulations than any of them could anticipate.